To built a better mouse trap has always eluded inventors, while numerous useful improvements have been disclosed there has never been a useful rodent trap as the present that provides a means for capturing numerous rodents in the same trap and which is self monitoring and simple to operate. Some of the prior art patents regarding rodent traps are as follows: Zapata et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,619; Fressola et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,415; Mowatt et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,406 ; Kaufman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,393,616; Volk, U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,704; and Buford U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,423. As can be seen from the prior art there have numerous device disclosed which incorporate electrical and various mechanical arrangements in an attempt to build a trap that functions efficiently and easily.
The present invention accomplishes these and other goals by providing a rodent trap that includes a central housing into which a rodent enters on a rodent entry ramp and inside which is a rotating trap door that is operated by a high speed DC motor and which is actuated by an infrared sensor positioned inside the housing, the motor is engaged to rotate the trap door and timed by a cam switch to return to a closed position and ready to operate upon entry of the next rodent. When the rodent falls through the trap door, it falls into a rodent box which box is received by an insertion in the housing lower section and which box includes a spring biased sliding cover that automatically slides to an opened position when the box is inserted into the housing and automatically closes when removed from the housing. The rodent box also includes a rodent presence indicator that is actuated by a weight activated switch located on the bottom surface of the rodent box and indicates to the use if a rodent or rodents are in the box.